The Gap Principle (5)

A model to explain how individuals weigh up the choice of hearing care providers. The model looks at the Proposition offered by a hearing care provider (including technology and service) and the cost to the individual of accepting that proposition.

The model can help individuals decide which hearing care provider to choose (based on the differences between the providers propositions and the equivalent "value for money"), as well as explaining the dynamics of entire hearing healthcare system – such as NHS vs private hearing care in the UK.

In the UK, an individual is likely to weigh up what is available to them for free on the NHS compared to what is not available for free.

Consequently, the closer the free provision comes to the non-free provision (i.e. the smaller the gap), the greater the relative cost of “going private” is seen to be.

This will mean that private providers have to offer more to increase that gap in order to justify the difference in cost. But what they offer has to be something of value to the individual making the choice, and such “extras” will never be as important as the core reasons why someone seeks out hearing care.